It's Dark and Hell Is Hot Songwriting Credits by DMX

DMX's debut studio album, released May 12, 1998, through Def Jam Recordings and Ruff Ryders Entertainment. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 251,000 copies in its first week, making DMX the first debut artist to open a rap album at number one since Notorious B.I.G. Dame Grease and PK (Anthony Fields) split the bulk of the production, with Irv Gotti contributing three tracks. "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" was produced by Swizz Beatz and became one of the defining anthems of the late-1990s hip-hop scene. DMX wrote all of his own lyrics throughout; the prayer skit closing the album set a template he would repeat on every subsequent studio project. The LOX and Mase appear on closing track "Niggaz Done Started Something," making them among the first high-profile collaborators on DMX's studio work.